Photo: Grippo Motorsport
Sebastian Bach went unbeaten at Swedish circuit Falkenberg last weekend to move into the Nordic Championship Formula lead.
In pre-event testing, Marius Kristiansen set a 43.716s to pip Formula 4 rival Bach to top spot by 0.128 seconds. Formula 5 driver Mads Hoe was 0.184s behind in third.
Bach lowered the pace in practice, setting a 43.307s and having a notably large 0.462s gap to Kristiansen in second around the short lap. Victor Snebjoern Poulsen was 0.007s slower than Kristiansen, with Casper Nissen and Alexia Danielsson also within a second of the pace.
It was a lot closer in qualifying, with Bach topping the timesheet by just 0.015s over Kristiansen and 0.064s to Poulsen. Hoe was 0.32s off pole in fourth, just ahead of George Sebastian Pavlopoulos.
Bach would have had a bigger margin had his fastest lap not been deleted for overtaking the safety car as it headed into the pits.
Melvin Kalousdian was the top Formula Renault 1.6-driving Formula Nordic entrant in 10th, within 0.1s of the top seven and 0.655s slower than Bach.
A lights-to-flag victory followed for Bach in race one, which he won by 2.987s. Poulsen passed Kristiansen for second early on, and a distant Pavlopoulos held off Nissen for fourth by 0.387s.
Hoe was F5 winner in sixth after a bad start which he had to make his way back up the order from, and Kalousdian finished a second clear of FNordic rival Richard Olson in eighth.
Alexia Danielsson and Mille Hoe were non-starters due to technical issues, and the engine issues which plagued the latter led to her brother Mads giving up his car so she could drive it in race two the next day.
Race two’s reversed grid set up more action, and Cecille Noer-Jensen collided with Hoe early on. Nissen made his way to the front before the safety car came out to remove Noer-Jensen’s car, but then fumbled the restart and Pavlopoulos took the lead.
Kristiansen and Bach made their way past Pavlopoulos and finished 2.37s apart, but victory went to the latter after Kristiansen was penalised five seconds for track limits abuse.
Anton Morsing was F5 winner in fourth, holding off several F4 drivers, and Hoe recovered to 10th. Kalousdian and Olson’s fight for eighth place, and FNordic victory, was decided by 0.238s.
Bach was on pole again for race three, which was twice interrupted by the safety car but did not prove disruptive in his route to victory. Kristiansen was second, and Pavlopoulos denied Poulsen third by 0.08s. Kalousdian and Morsing won their classes in fifth and sixth, with Morsing finishing just 0.044s ahead of Nissen.
Results round-up [F5 entrants in italics, FR1.6 entrants in bold]
Race 1 (26 laps)
1 Sebastian Bach STEP Motorsport 19m09.319s
2 Victor Snebjoern Poulsen STEP Motorsport +2.987s
3 Marius Kristiansen Team FSP +3.872s
4 George Sebastian Pavlopoulos STEP Motorsport +11.543s
5 Casper Nissen STEP Motorsport +11.930s
6 Mads Hoe Mads Hoe Motorsport +16.690s
7 Anton Morsing Mads Hoe Motorsport +17.288s
8 Melvin Kalousdian Race Team Gellerasen +32.663s
9 Richard Olson +33.663s
10 Robin Hafstrom +35.255s
Pole: Bach, 43.560s
Fastest lap: Bach, 43.710s
Race 2 (23 laps)
1 Bach 19m15.249s
2 Kristiansen +2.630s
3 Pavlopoulos +4.013s
4 Morsing +10.725s
5 Nissen +11.092s
6 Poulsen +11.270s
7 Alexia Danielsson Team FSP +11.699s
8 Kalousdian +25.302s
9 Olson +25.540s
10 Mille Hoe Mads Hoe Motorsport +29.984s
FL: Bach, 43.739s
Race 3 (17 laps)
1 Bach 18m48.232s
2 Kristiansen +0.406s
3 Pavlopoulos +3.702s
4 Poulsen +3.782s
5 Kalousdian +5.683s
6 Morsing +6.364s
7 Nissen +6.408s
8 Hampus Varis +6.925s
9 Olson +7.351s
10 Hafstrom +8.105s
FL: Kristiansen, 44.022s
Championship standings
1 Bach 166 2 Kristiansen 143 3 Poulsen 115 4 Mads Hoe 91 5 Pavoloupolos 76 6 Nissen 64 7 Morsing 60 8 Pedersen 50 9 Danielsson 43 10 Kalousdian 32